525,600 Minutes, 525,000 Moments So Dear
by bioluminonsense
Summary: The 38th generation of the Twelve Holy Knights are remembered far and wide as some of the bravest, most accomplished knights in Forgotten Sound's history. Their adventures as adults are well-known . . . but what were they like when they were kids?
1. Introduction

"This is Georgo, Grisia." Neo clapped a hand down onto Grisia's shoulder as carefully as though his student was made of glass. (He'd learned his lesson the last time he'd forgotten to adjust his strength, when he'd snapped the poor kid's collarbone and gotten an earful from Chasel.) "He's going to be the Earth Knight someday. Why don't you say hello?"

Grisia peered around Neo's leg to examine his fellow student; Georgo was much taller than he was, but he had soft eyes and a polite smile. Deeming him harmless, Grisia broke into a delighted grin and stepped out to shake hands.

"Good morning, dear brother! The kind God of Light has blessed us today. May the God of Light shine his benevolence down upon you like shimmering starlight, and may every dove of peace you see bring you gifts of heavenly joy. How are- uh, how art thou?"

"I, um." Georgo looked back at his teacher, who shrugged helplessly. "Uh, g-good morning to you, too, Grisia! I-it's a b-beautiful day out, huh?"

Grisia tilted his head, smile faltering slightly. "That's what I said, dear brother."

"N-no, you didn't, Grisia, you said something about b-birds." Georgo was still stuttering properly, but his polite smile was rapidly fading. Honestly! It was annoying enough that his future boss talked like a love letter, did he have to pick fights about it?

"I believe you are mistaken, dear brother. I said- Grisia said that the 'kind God of Light has blessed us today,' because the weather's so marvelously beautiful, and then Grisia asked what fortune the benevolent God of Light has granted you."

"What? N-no, you didn't." Georgo paused for a moment, mouth twisting into a frown as he looked at Grisia. "You're lying."

It was Grisia's turn to frown. "No, I'm not."

"Y-yes, you are."

"No, I'm not!" Grisia stepped closer to Georgo, ignoring how the other boy loomed over him. Georgo's eyes flashed, no longer as soft as they were a moment ago.

"The God of Light doesn't forgive liars."

"The God of Light forgives everyone! That's his whole- that's like his job or something. The Earth Knight's supposed to be honest and friendly, so stop calling me a liar!"

The Earth Knight hissed for Neo to stop his ridiculously aggressive child, only for Neo to scoff.

"They're kids," he whispered over the heads of the bickering boys. "Kids fight!" He did, however, step in when Grisia's robes starting fluttering in a wind that wasn't blowing. Whenever his student lost his temper, he tended to start casting magic accidentally; it generated an unpleasant buzz that made Neo's teeth hurt. "Hold it, short stuff. The Sun Knight doesn't use magic."

"But he called me a liar!" Grisia wasn't mad enough to try and dodge past Neo to get at Georgo, who was making faces from behind his own teacher, but he glared up at the Sun Knight indignantly. Neo sneered back at him, crossing his arms.

"So? The Sun Knight never loses his cool, especially when someone else is mad at him." Neo shook his head disapprovingly. "The only time you're allowed to get emotional is when one of your brothers dies."

Grisia's sudden thoughtful silence, coupled with an intense stare towards Georgo, sent a chill up the Earth Knight's spine.

"U-um, Neo, I think that i-it's, um, about time for you t-two to be on your way, now?" Luckily for the Earth Knight, Neo nodded, shooing Grisia in front of him as the two of them disappeared down the corridor. Georgo turned to look at his teacher, mad that his fight had been interrupted, but before he could say anything his teacher leveled him with a deadly serious look.

"Listen to me, child. There's certain rules you need to follow when speaking with the Sun Knight, just to ensure your own safety."

"My own safety? What-"

"Hush. Remember, child, no matter what the circumstances are, the Sun Knight is always perfect!"

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading! I'm cross-posting this fic from AO3. Both sites will be updated with new chapters at about the same time. The prompts are from Variation 2 of the 100 Theme Challenge by JennyDigital on DeviantART._


	2. Love

Ecilan frowned down at the blank page in frustration, tapping his quill against his lips. He'd bought a small journal with his own allowance, but so far he'd only managed to fill one page. He couldn't resist flipping back a few pages to look at it again, scanning his own careful handwriting for any mistakes he'd missed the last time he'd triple-checked it. Along the top was a title, letters as straight and simple as he could make them.

" **Sweet Blueberry Pie."**

It was followed by smaller writing below, listing ingredients and instructions to make the most sugar-filled blueberry pie known to mankind. It had taken weeks to perfect the mixture; thankfully, Grisia was always happy to be his taste-tester. Ecilan had wanted to thank his fellow student for showing him that 'sweets are equal to smiles,' so he'd put in extra effort to learn exactly what it was Grisia enjoyed. Even Teacher had commented on his new resolve. Now that he'd achieved his goal, however, he'd run into a new problem.

If he didn't know what everyone liked to eat, how was he supposed to 'smile' at them?

Ecilan let his head hit the desk, closing his eyes and sighing heavily. Giving them something they didn't like would be worse than not smiling at them at all. If his father were here, he'd probably laugh and ask them straight out, "what do you love? I will bake you something better!" and he could do it, too. Just by looking at someone, Ecilan's father would know what they liked and what they didn't.

 _"Baking is love, Bambino," he always said, with a twinkle in his eye. "If you love someone, you will know what to bake!"_

Ecilan leaned back and twisted his quill in his fingers. But Padre, I don't even know them! How could I love them? It's not that he didn't like his fellow students, of course, but there was a big difference between getting along with them and loving them. All he ever did with the others was swordfight under Sir Neo's supervision- and eat pie, if he was with Grisia. At this rate, Ecilan was never going be friends with the others!

He had to do something.

* * *

"Laica, may I ask you a question?" Ecilan settled into a defensive position and leveled the Metal Knight-in-training with a serious look. It wasn't often they sparred with each other, since the Ice Knight's passive sword style made it tough to defend against the Metal Knight's throwing knife techniques. The other students had paired off as well, with Sir Neo pacing around them all and correcting their postures.

"Sure, knock yourself out." Laica pulled a knife from his belt and twirled it in his hand, scanning Ecilan's position for any holes. Ecilan adjusted his sword in his hands, palms sweating from nerves, and began speaking as casually as he could.

"Before you came to the selections, did you ever happen to visit the Zucchero Neve bakery, near the Imperial Palace?" It was his family's bakery, founded by one of his ancestors. Generations of his family had lived and worked there all their lives- he was the first Zucchero in centuries to choose a different profession. If Laica had ever been there, he would definitely have a favorite sweet, and then Ecilan could make it for him! Unfortunately, Laica's next words crushed his hopes.

"Nope, never even heard of it. I came straight from my village to participate in the selections, so I've hardly even been outside the church." Laica decided to strike as he spoke, dashing forward and swinging his knife downwards towards Ecilan's shoulder. The blades clashed loudly, but Ecilan's strength won out and he disarmed Laica in one smooth movement, sending the knife flying out of reach. Laica cursed as he backed away, reaching for another knife. "Why do you ask, anyway? It's not like we're friends or anything."

Ecilan flinched at the question, Laica's words managing to pinpoint his greatest weakness. _No wonder he'd breezed through the selections!_

"I just- I was wondering if you'd ever eaten anything from there. I've heard it's really good." Ecilan jumped when Sir Neo barked at him to stop standing around like concussed pigeon, and quickly shifted into the third form of defense his teacher had shown him. Laica, seeing this, began circling again, trying to find the holes in this new position. "They bake bread and things like normal bakeries, but their sweets are the best in all of Forgotten Sound." Ecilan wasn't exaggerating. His parents didn't usually let him eat the merchandise, but when they did he could feel himself falling in love with baking all over again.

"Sweets, huh?" Laica pulled out another knife and frowned at them both as though comparing them. Ecilan forced himself not to flinch as he watched the other boy slice both knives across his arm, apparently testing their sharpness. Laica nodded to himself, holstering one of the knives and gripping the remaining one with determination. "I don't know if I believe that nonsense about being the 'best in Forgotten Sound.' It sounds like they're compensating for something."

Ecilan's expression wasn't a smooth as it should have been, but his baker's pride had flared.

"Well, why don't you try it, then? You can see for yourself if they're really as good as they say." Laica considered Ecilan's proposal for a moment, frowning thoughtfully.

"What do I get if I'm right?"

"Well," Ecilan floundered for a moment, "Satisfaction, I guess. And you'll have eaten sweets either way."

"Good point. Alright! You've got yourself a deal!"

Ecilan didn't have a chance to reply before Sir Neo stormed over, yelling at Laica for "getting blood all over his training uniform again," but he didn't let this distract him.

 _Just you wait, Laica! Don't underestimate a Zucchero!_

* * *

He didn't buy sweets from the bakery, of course, Ecilan made them himself in the church kitchens. He'd let himself get sidetracked from his goal of figuring out what his fellow students liked, but now that he'd made the bet he could hardly back down. His honor as a baker- and as the Ice Knight-in-training- was at stake! Unfortunately, it had already been three weeks since Laica had challenged him, and Ecilan had yet to make him admit defeat. He would eat anything Ecilan brought him, but no matter what changes were made to the recipe it was always "too sweet," or "too bitter." He'd had tried adding nuts last time, and Laica hadn't liked those either, but he had liked them more than the others, so Ecilan must've done _something_ right.

 _But what could it be? The salt from the nuts? No, he mentioned he didn't like how the nuts tasted. Was it the chocolate? But I only used enough to keep the nuts together because I wanted to keep them small . . ._

Ecilan was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, scanning the ingredients laid out on the counter and trying not to let his frustration show on his face. His teacher had scolded him recently, lamenting that he'd gone from smiling all the time to frowning, and Ecilan didn't want to waste time in character development classes when he could be baking.

 _Maybe I'm going about this the wrong way,_ he realized. _I keep trying to add things, like how I added sugar for Grisia. But Laica only likes it when I take away from his candy._ Ecilan lept up from the stool and began pacing the room. _It must be that he doesn't like chocolate. He came from an isolated village; maybe he never got to eat chocolate at all, so he never learned to enjoy it! But what can I use if I can't use chocolate?_ Ecilan whipped around, digging through his stockpiled ingredients for a hint. Back at the bakery, they sometimes got orders from customers with allergies to certain ingredients, so his parents were careful to teach him alternatives to every ingredient. Try as he might, however, he couldn't remember them teaching him a substitute for chocolate.

Ecilan forced himself to sit down and think clearly. _OK, I can't substitute anything for chocolate, because that would make the taste even less appealing to Laica. I have to think of something he would have eaten before. Think, Ecilan! He lived in the middle of the woods, miles from any trading posts. It's not likely they would have many chances to buy sugar, so he must've gotten it from somewhere else._

 _That's it!_

His eyes swept over the ingredients one last time, landing on the heavy ceramic jars the kitchen ladies kept sugar in. He'd spent plenty of time scooping sugar out of those jars for Grisia's sweets, but he'd never seen any use for the little blue jar that held the wrong kind of sugar. This time, with a little improvisation, Ecilan was sure he could make it work. _It will work, or my name's not Ecilan Zucchero!_

* * *

Laica was sitting in his room, waiting for the sun to rise and absently tossing a knife between his hands. He was a really light sleeper in the first place, and it was boring to sleep for more than a few hours at a time. Teacher got annoyed when he wandered the church at night, though, so he made sure to stay inside his room until a more reasonable hour. (After all, the only other person who woke up as early as he did was Sir Chasel, and Laica certainly didn't want to hang around with the Judgement Knight!)

Suddenly, his door flew open, slamming against the wall with a bang that made Laica jump. Ecilan, who looked absolutely exhausted, made a beeline for Lacia and thrust a bundle into his arms.

"These are for you." He sat down heavily on the bed, staring intently at Laica and waiting for him to open the bundle. The Metal Knight-in-training turned the package over in his hands, curious; it was probably more sweets, since they were wrapped up in Ecilan's handkerchief. He didn't know why the other boy had been consistently buying candy for him recently, but it was probably something he'd said; with his luck, he'd insulted the Ice Knight-in-training so badly his ancestors ten generations back were offended. Maybe this candy was poisoned, and he was dying really, really slowly. _OK, don't get paranoid, Laica, just open the hankie before Ecilan freezes your nostrils shut or something._

The smell that hit him once he untied the knot was almost painfully familiar, and he hurried to open it fully. Inside were perfectly round lumps of soft candy, smooth and malleable. They were roughly made and had clearly been a rush job, but Laica almost couldn't breathe in surprise. Bringing one to his mouth, he realised that it wasn't just the smell that was familiar, the taste was as well. Ecilan must've seen his shock, because he began explaining;

"It's maple flavored toffee, since you probably don't like the taste of chocolate. I would've made something less sticky if I'd had a chance to harvest the syrup myself, but all we had in the kitchens was maple sugar, so it might not taste the way you're used to-"

"Hold on," Laica interrupted, words muffled by the toffee he'd stuffed in his mouth, "You made these? I thought you bought them from that bakery place."

"Zucchero Neve," Ecilan supplied. "And no, I'm sorry. I've been making it all myself. I mean, it's still Zucchero, but it's not really the same." He paused for a moment. "It's my family's bakery, you see, and my Padre always said that if you love someone, you should bake them something that will make them smile, and, well. We're brothers, aren't we?"

Laica swallowed, staring intently at Ecilan, who was fidgeting and shyly looking down in a way that didn't suit the Ice Knight-in-training at all. _So I DID insult his entire family tree back then._

"Well, thank you, I guess." Ecilan jerked but didn't look at Laica. "I mean, I don't know why you went out of your way to do this, but it's perfect." He popped another toffee in his mouth. "It tastes a lot like the candy my mom used to make. I didn't think I'd ever get to eat something like this again." He didn't mention it wasn't just the taste that was familiar; Ecilan probably hadn't done it on purpose, but his ice magic had kept the toffee cold, much like the maple candy from back home. "I love them."

Ecilan was quiet as he watched Laica dig through the pile of toffee. He'd stayed up all night to make passable toffee, working until he'd been kicked out of the kitchen by the ladies getting ready to make breakfast. He'd exhausted his powers trying to make enough ice to cool the boiling syrup properly, and he'd burned his tongue trying to taste it and it still felt numb. It had been one of the toughest things he'd ever tried to make, but the warmth that bloomed in his chest when the other boy thanked him made all his regrets fade away.

 _"Baking is love, Bambino. If you love someone, you will know what to bake!"_

 _You always made it sound so easy, Padre. But I think I understand._

* * *

Years later, the newly-knighted Ecilan Ice flipped through his notebook again, skimming the countless recipes that filled the once-empty pages. His handwriting had gotten smaller and tighter, less childish, and it had helped when his recipes had gotten more complex. Some of them took up several pages all on their own, the margins filled with details he'd added in later on. The pages themselves had aging splatters of flour and chocolate and God of Light knew what else sticking them together, so he had to pick the open carefully. Ecilan could remember the trials that had gone into each one of these recipes, the guesswork and the stomachaches from eating too many failures.

" **Sweet Blueberry Pie** ," for Grisia, which was still too sweet for anyone else to eat, especially now that they'd grown up. " **Maple Toffee** ," for Laica, who refused to eat anything else. There were dozens of pages with extra parchment pasted on top of scratched-out recipes, back when he'd tried to pin down Elmairy's tastes. (The other boy had always thanked him so kindly he assumed that he'd hit the perfect mixture, only to change it again when he learned that Elmairy had given the candies away. Again.) Every single page had brought him closer to understanding his father's words, and finally, Ecilan could claim he knew what his father had been talking about. _Baking is love, Padre. If you love someone, you will know what to bake, because you'll care enough to figure it out._

* * *

x

 _Ecilan could use a little more love, don't you think?_


	3. Light

Vival knew his teacher would scold him, but he couldn't help but keep his head down when he was inside the Hall of Praise. It made him feel guilty, trying to act arrogant in the heart of the oldest religion on the continent. His parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and practically his entire family all worshipped the God of Light, and even though they'd sent him to try out for the Moon Knight, they would definitely be disappointed if he kept up the act in the place they consider the closest to the God of Light.

The whole room was made out of smooth white stone, even the pews and altar, but the stone was worn down where generations of worshippers had walked and kneeled and prayed. The walls weren't solid, instead made of pillars holding up enormous stained-glass windows that lit up the whole room like a blazing fire. You could hardly even tell the stone was white once the sun was up; light poured into the Hall of Praise and filled it with warmth and color. It reminded Vival of flowers.

It was the Moon Knight's turn for prayer duty this week, so as his student Vival was in charge of keeping the Hall clean as a whistle. Last week, it was Sir Fahr's turn, but since Chikus never bothered to clean it was much dirtier than it should have been. Vival didn't mind too much, since the extra cleaning meant he got to skip out on character development lessons. There were only so many hours he could spend sneering at himself in the mirror, listening to his teacher complain about the many, many bets he'd lost. The time spent cleaning also meant he had longer to admire the candles.

The candles _really_ reminded Vival of flowers, set in wrought iron candelabras that twisted around like vines. Instead of leaves, though, it had small plates that worshippers placed their candles on; when it burned all the way down, their prayers would be answered. Teacher said it was to make patrons come in more often in order to keep their candles lit, but Vival was pretty sure there was more to it than that. The candles came in all different colors, each for a different purpose. White candles were for everyone, even people who didn't actually worship the God of Light, and Vival saw those most often. Pink candles were for love, red candles for courage, and yellow candles for friendship. Many other colors filled the candelabra, so many that Vival was sure he'd never remember them all, and each light carried a different hope. It could take hours to clean off all the wax that had dripped down onto the iron and the floor, but Vival didn't mind that either. If he finished it all on time, then he got to watch the lighting ceremony.

Every Sunday, before hymning, it was traditional for the knight currently in charge of prayer duties to put out every single candle- their platoon would help, of course, since there were hundreds of candles- and the lights would remain out for the whole ceremony. After they put out the candles, their shift officially ends, so the next Knight-Captain- the one who hosts the hymning- has to light all the candles again with their holy light to complete the ceremony. For Knights without much holy light, like his teacher, the clerics would help out. Vival loved watching the lighting ceremony more than anyone else. To him, it was the most magnificent sight in the world, to watch everyone's hopes and prayers light up all at once.

Tonight was his last chance to clean the Hall of Praise before the hymning on Sunday. If he didn't finish on time, he wouldn't be allowed to watch the ceremony, and he couldn't let that happen. He'd even snuck out past curfew to give himself more time, sneaking into the Hall of Praise in between patrols.

It was a lot . . . darker, than he thought it would be. Without sunlight, the beautiful stained-glass windows had become dark, looming walls, closing him into the Hall like silent guards. Since most candles had burned out by this point in the week, the only light came from the moon, hanging in the sky above the church. Its shape was distorted through the ripples of the stained glass, and the weird blue light it provided was giving Vival the chills. He was usually in bed by the time the moon was this bright, and seeing it again reminded Vival of something his teacher had told him just after he'd been selected.

* * *

 _"All Moon Knights get lonely sometimes, Vival, so I want you to think about something for a moment; when you're lost at night, what's the first thing you look for?"_

 _"Well-" He hadn't managed to guess before his teacher interrupted him, like usual. Teacher had a bad habit of asking rhetorical questions._

 _"The moon, right? It's because the moon is standing guard. When the sun sets and everything else is sleeping, the moon is awake and keeping an eye on things. The Moon Knight's like that, too. We're so distant towards everyone else that we can see danger as clearly as the moon can. Even if you feel like you're all alone, you've got to remember that it's your responsibility to remain vigilant and watch over your brothers like the moon watches over us. Get it?"_

 _"It sounds awful, teacher."_

 _"Okay, maybe it's a little rough, but is that going to stop you?"_

 _"Um-"_

 _"No, it's not, because your brothers feel the same way about you. That's the thing about the Twelve Holy Knights, Vival, no matter how far apart you are- even as far apart as the moon and the sun are- you're always together."_

 _"But-"_

 _"Listen to me, listen to me. Always together means always together, no matter what excuses you think up. Let other people worry about the details; leave the overthinking to somebody else! The Moon Knight has better things to do!"_

* * *

Vival didn't really understand it; how could you be together if you weren't near one another? It wasn't like the Twelve Holy Knights could send telepathic messages to each other. His teacher was right about one thing, though; Vival was overthinking things. Teacher always ended his lectures the same way, claiming "the Moon Knight has better things to do," and right now Vival wanted to finish cleaning so he could get enough sleep to stay awake for tomorrow's ceremony!

If the moonlight didn't frighten him anymore, then that wasn't anyone else's business anyway.

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading! Vival was tough to write, because being hopelessly romantic is a big part of his character, and yet . . . here, he is young . . . can a preteen boy be romantic?_


	4. Dark

"Dear child, the God of Light bids thee to come here for a moment." Neo's cheerful voice floated through the training grounds and sent chills down the spines of everyone nearby. The Sun Knight tended to ignore everything that wasn't sword-fighting, and today was horse-riding practice, so hearing Sir Neo's voice was a nasty surprise.

Elmairy took one for the team, stepping back from the pony he'd been brushing. "Do you need something, Sir Neo?" The pony whinnied softly, closing the gap between them and pressing its head against the Leaf Knight-in-training's arm lovingly. Elmairy shushed it quietly, and fed it a carrot out of his pocket.

"Alas, dear child, 'tis not thee that Sun is seeking at the moment; in accordance to the will of the God of Light, Sun has come to retrieve Sun's own student," Sir Neo smiled, "posthaste."

The student in question leapt away from his own horse like he'd been struck by lightning.

"Ah, Teacher! The God of Light bids the welcome, and wishes that thou will be blessed with, uh, good fortune." Grisia ran his hands through his hair, checking for hay; his hair always got messed up on horse-riding days, no matter how careful he was.

"That's very nice, dear child, now come here." Sir Neo smiled again, and everyone flinched at the sight. The Sun Knight was always smiling, of course, but sometimes his smiles felt more like a wolf baring its teeth.

It wasn't until the two blondes left that a sigh of relief swept through the courtyard. Maybe they should be a little worried about Grisia (who had been in the infirmary more times than the rest of them combined) but when it came to the Sun Knight, it was better to mind your own business!

* * *

". . . Teacher? What's wrong?" Grisia asked nervously. His teacher hadn't said anything the whole way back to his room, only nodding and smiling to anyone who passed by. He didn't even flirt with the clerics on the way! "Did I do something wrong? It's because that horse is out to get me, honest! I really did try to stay on this time, but it went the wrong way and I ended up falling." He couldn't understand it; that silly old horse behaved perfectly well whenever one of the others rode it, but it evidently had some kind of grudge against him.

Neo only shook his head in despair, putting his hands on his student's shoulders and guiding him over to the mirror on the vanity. The table of the vanity was covered in piles of love letters and glass bottles filled with mysterious substances, but at least the mirror was clean. "Tell me, child, what do you see?"

"I see . . . us?" Grisia gave them a once-over. Behind him was his teacher, as tall and broad-shouldered as ever, and his own reflection was just as small and messy as he thought it would be. He reached up to pull a stray piece of hay out of his hair. "It's gone now, teacher. Sorry."

"No, it's not." Neo sighed heavily. "Grisia," he said, changing the subject, "do you remember me telling you that the Sun Knight needed a perfect appearance at all times?"

"Yes! The Sun Knight has beautiful blue eyes, flowing blond hair, skin as pale as snow, polished boots, sparkly teeth and absolutely never gets blueberry stains on his robes." The last part was the hardest part.

"I'm glad you remember so well; now, Grisia, would you say you're as pale as snow?"

Grisia looked at his reflection seriously. He'd been out in the sun for hours, trying to ride that dumb horse, and he'd gotten freckles everywhere and a serious tan to show for it. They would fade fast- like always- but he wasn't nearly as pale as his teacher was.

". . . No, teacher."

"Exactly." Neo patted Grisia on the head lightly, and pointed to a small vial in the mess of bottles. "That's yours now, Grisia. Lavender essence. It's to make the solution smell nice, because without it the stuff smells mostly like puke."

Grisia wrinkled his nose as he reached for the bottle, and turned it over in hands before a thought occurred to him. "Is that why you always smell like roses?"

"Yes . . . though God of Light knows I don't tan nearly as fast as you do . . . or as dark." Neo frowned down at the Grisia's sun-kissed skin. "You should be careful how long you spend in the sun, Grisia, or you'll run out of money trying to make enough solution."

"Ah! Yes, teacher!" _I don't want to die a miserable death! From now on, I'll be extra careful about going outside!_

* * *

"I-it hurts, teacher." Grisia tried his best not to whine. He was eleven now, almost a grown-up, and teacher always got mad when he whined. He pressed his hands against his eyes, willing himself not to cry. The Sun Knight was only allowed to get emotional when one of his brothers dies! Pain was nothing to the Sun Knight!

"I know, child, I know!" Neo paced frantically for a moment, clenching his fists. How could he have been so stupid!? Even his own feather-brained teacher had remembered to warn him against the dangers of letting the skin-lightening solution dry on his skin. By the time he'd remembered and scrambled back to his chambers, Grisia had already tried to peel the dry solution off by himself, only to stop short from the pain of also peeling off the top layer of his skin. Neo cursed himself; because of his foolish actions, Grisia was stuck paying the price . . . there was only one thing he could do.

"Grisia," he knelt before his student, very deliberately not looking him in the eye. "I'm very sorry for what I'm about to do."

"Teacher, what-" Grisia cut himself off with a blood-curdling scream, pain and surprise startling him into releasing a sudden burst of magic that made Neo's ears pop. A wind kicked up, knocking over bottles and blowing their hair around wildly, and in the distance he could hear doors slamming open and footsteps rushing in their direction. Neo looked down at the crumbling chunk of dry solution in his hand; now that the worst was over, Grisia could probably yank the rest off himself. His student had curled into a ball on Neo's bed, looking for all the world a tiny, purple cat- if tiny purple cats could scream like banshees.

 _Well,_ Neo considered, _I did just rip the skin off the most sensitive part of his body. It would be weird if he wasn't screaming._

"Neo, what was that? Are you alright?" Lanbi was banging on his door, but abruptly retreated when Fahr called out to back off, and Neo had two seconds to throw a blanket over his shuddering student before his door was kicked in with a loud bang.

"Neo! We heard a scream! What's wrong?" Wen poked his head through the opening, several curious children leaning around his legs. Neo spared a moment to be impressed by Grisia's lung power; for Wen to have heard him all the way out in the training grounds, he must've screamed loud enough to wake the dead. _It's a figure of speech, of course; Grisia may have magic but he's no necromancer!_

"I'm fine, dear brothers." He brushed off Lanbi and Fahr's fussing, and casually stepped to hide Grisia from view. "The God of Light has merely guided me to enlighten my child and allow him to better take on the challenges of being commander of the Church of the God of Light."

Almost instantly, the expressions on the faces of the other Knight-Captains went from worried to pitying, turning sad gazes to the whimpering child on the bed. _Hey! I'm not that bad, am I?_

"Oh, well. That's good, I guess." Fahr chewed on the pipe hanging out of his mouth, visibly restraining himself from fussing over Grisia, too. "We'll leave you to it then, Neo; just remember to keep it down this time!" He clapped his hands and began waving the others out of the room. "It's alright, everyone, false alarm! Nothin' to see here!"

Neo followed them as they left, frowning as he saw dozens of unknown clerics and soldiers sighing in relief. He needed to invest in a soundproofing charm if so many people could hear what went on in his room. That was a worry for another day, however, so he smiled reassuringly at the crowd and closed the door again, locking it this time.

Neo looked back at Grisia, who had gone completely still and utterly silent on the bed. The only sign the kid was even alive was the slight rise and fall of his breathing. "Child?" He reached out to pat the lump under the blanket. "Grisia, you OK under there?"

"T-teacher, does this happen every time?"

Neo winced. "No, it shouldn't. There's a certain way to put it on and take it off, but I forgot to tell you." Neo let out a breath he hadn't quite realized he'd been holding. Strongest Sun Knight in history or not, it was time to own up and face the music. "I'm sorry, Grisia."

"What?" His student threw the blanket off and looked at him incredulously. "But- the Sun Knight never apologizes!"

Neo winced again, grimacing. _Wouldn't Chasel have something to say about that._ "Well, the Sun Knight doesn't usually need to apologize because he always does the right thing," he hedged. "But it's important to know when to properly apologize to someone."

Grisia was quiet for a moment. "Like when?"

 _Uuuuugh, God of Light give me guidance._ "Like . . . let's say you did something totally awful like, uh, kidnap one of your brothers-" _That stinks!_ "-and use him as bait for a . . . dragon." _That's worse! He's not gonna believe this!_ "Then you should definitely apologize."

"But I would never do that!" Grisia was sitting up and scratching at the dried solution absently, distracted from the pain. _He bought it! Mission success!_ Neo grinned and flicked Grisia's forehead playfully.

"Then you'll never have to apologize! Problem solved!"

 _This mentoring thing is easier than I thought it would be!_

* * *

x

 _Given how strange some of the things Neo taught Grisia are, I'm convinced he's every bit as gullible as he is intelligent, especially if he trusts you._


	5. Rot

Elmairy's first big trip out of Leaf Bud City was an absolute disaster.

It had started out fine- they left on time, the weather was clear, his teacher's flask was full of coffee instead of alcohol- and he'd been really looking forward to it. This would be a the longest time he'd ever spent in the wild (a whole month!) since a good Leaf Knight should be at home in any forest. Even the super-duper-extra-long goodbye Teacher and Miss Teacher's Wife made him suffer through didn't bring Elmairy down.

Even the first few days were okay. Teacher let him set up the tent on his own- and he hadn't even needed any help- and he'd started the fire and fetched water to boil all by himself, too. The excitement of his first big trip made his aim a little wonky when he shot the practise targets Teacher set up, but that was okay because he even carved himself new arrows whenever he ran out. Unfortunately, it was too good to last; Teacher had neglected to pack the food properly, having been just a little bit too hungover that day . . .

By the time they woke up on Day 6, everything- every last bit of the delicious food Miss Teacher's Wife had prepared for them- had gone rotten.

All they had left were the rations that Sir Fahr had forced into Elmairy's backpack just before they left, saying they were "just in case" and Teacher had scoffed but now it was all they had and they needed to make it last. Elmairy had asked why they couldn't just go back and start over, and his teacher had shuddered.

"Go back and let Aliza know I wasn't careful with the food she packed for us? Suck it up, child, we're going to tough it out."

 _Toughing it out_ was definitely the toughest thing Elmairy had ever done. The trip that had started out as fun and adventurous quickly became tedious; the bland taste of the rations had seeped into his very bones and made him feel like puking with every bite. What he wouldn't give for even the simplest, most basic flavor . . . After the fourth day of nothing but rations, Elmairy started dreaming about spices. He'd never cooked before, so he didn't know many, but his imagination filled in the blanks. Salt and pepper were joined by jars of pink and green syrup, sticks of butter became swords used by bread knights fighting against evil legions of rations. The second week was worse- Elmairy hunted as best he could, but even rabbits and birds had begun to taste bland. No matter how much water he drank, he couldn't wash out the taste of rations. Elmairy felt like he was going crazy.

Teacher had managed to sneak alcohol into his bags, hidden in a secret compartment in the base of his quiver, and he would drink it as he ate. Eating rations wasn't nearly as awful, he said, as long as he had a decent drink to go with it. Unfortunately for Elmairy, he was still too young to drink; instead, Teacher nobly sacrificed the jar of coffee beans Miss Teacher's Wife had packed for him. Drinking coffee with the rations made things a little easier, but Teacher made him dilute it so much (too much caffeine was just as bad for him as alcohol, apparently) that it did next to nothing to hide the taste of rations. The two of them spent Day 15 experimenting with the rations and the beans, finally deciding that boiling the ingredients together into a sort of stew was the only vaguely acceptable option- anything else was enough to make them hurl. Teacher began joining Elmairy on his hunts, both of them desperately seeking out something more palatable than the hateful coffee-rations. To their dismay, it was too far out of hunting season to find anything worth killing.

The dreams got worse, transforming into nightmares that made Elmairy wake up screaming. Soon, sleeping meant trapping himself in a world full of undead rabbits, the remains of all the poor creatures he had to kill because he'd been too naive to pack the food himself. The Leaf Knight doesn't hunt for sport- ever- so this was the first time Elmairy had ever shot more than one animal during a hunt. He told himself it was necessary, that he and teacher needed to eat and the God of Light would forgive him, but it didn't help much. Not only was he painfully hungry, he felt guilty, and nothing Teacher said could convince Elmairy that he wasn't defiling the honor of the Leaf Knight.

* * *

When Teacher announced that the month was over and it was time to go back to the Church, Elmairy couldn't help but cry with relief. The first thing he did when they got home was ransack the kitchens for food- never before had bread and butter tasted so good. Elmairy felt as though he'd died and gone to heaven, taking his time and savoring the taste of all the food he'd taken for granted before. Teacher had needed to report to the Pope first, but he'd joined in just as Elmairy was digging through the spice rack and adding everything he could to a soup he was improvising. Miss Teacher's Wife scolded the two of them, but she helped cook the soup properly and didn't stop them when they ate every drop. The next thing Elmairy did was beg Miss Teacher's Wife and the other kitchen ladies to teach him how to cook. Never again would he let food rot under his watch. Elmairy would learn how to use spices properly, or he wasn't the Leaf Knight-in-training!

* * *

x

 _Writing this chapter, I had to think about why Elmairy is such a perfect Leaf Knight; I think that, in addition to being naturally kindhearted, he's very honorable. Even the nicest person would draw the line somewhere, but if it's a matter of honor, then you can depend on the gallant Leaf Knight to see you through!_


	6. Break

The first time Neo hurt Grisia, it took him a moment to realize what he'd done. He'd only meant to give the poor kid a reassuring pat on the shoulder, a "hey, you actually managed to hit the training dummy this time" type thing. The thing was, Neo wasn't really a touchy-feely kinda guy; he had no idea how to hold back his considerable strength when not in combat, which didn't spell good news for a child as small as Grisia.

After a sickening crack, Grisia had gone pale and dropped to the floor, leaning awkwardly to one side. Neo had assumed Grisia had exhausted himself during training. It wasn't until some of the other boys were pointing and whispering at the growing bloodstain on Grisia's tunic that Neo's brain jumped into gear.

 _Snapped collar bone,_ his mind supplied. _May be putting pressure on his lungs._

Two seconds after this realization, Neo scooped Grisia up and started sprinting for the infirmary. Damn it all, couldn't this kid go ten minutes without getting into trouble? Black eyes were one thing- you could hardly see them past Grisia's wild blond hair- but a snapped collar bone was quite another. How he was going to explain this one to the clerics, he didn't know, but Neo's holy light wasn't strong enough to fix this one on his own. _How embarrassing! The strongest Sun Knight in history, running for a cleric because he didn't have enough holy light to heal one tiny little munchkin?_ Neo wasn't looking forward to the inevitable teasing once Dansbert found out about this.

 _At least it's just a one time thing._

* * *

The next time Neo hurt Grisia, it was actually the second and third times both at once.

Every year, it was tradition for the soldiers to put together a temporary obstacle course in the southern training grounds for specialized training. Neo loved it, often using "Knight-Captain's privilege" to screw around under the guise of a "safety check." This year he had the selection kids tagging along, but the course was tame enough that he probably wouldn't get in trouble for letting ten-year-olds play on it.

"Sir Neo, could you help Grisia down?" Roland's squeaky voice cut over the laughter of the others, and Neo turned to see the overly-serious candidate standing on the sand beneath the Tower of Judgement. _Ugh._ Roland by himself wasn't too bad- in fact he was wonderful- but he and the bane of Neo's existence were inseparable. Seeing him standing alone was actually a little unnerving, and Neo had a sinking feeling about where he would find Roland's other half.

The Tower of Judgement was the stupid name the soldiers had given the toughest part of the obstacle course; 30 feet tall, there was a platform at the very top and small wooden handles at random intervals. The point was to build dexterity by climbing all the way up using the tiny, smooth handles as your only support. Grisia was huddled at the very top, gazing out over the training grounds with the all the awe of someone who is very small who had suddenly found themselves somewhere very tall. _Of course,_ Neo grumbled to himself. _Of course_ _that little nightmare had no trouble climbing the tower; his hands are so small it's like the handles were made just for him!_

"Come along, dear child," he called once he has reached the base. "The God of Light appreciates your efforts in attempting to reach him early, but his blessings will be numerous should you retreat now."

"I just got here, Sir Neo! I don't need to come down!" Grisia's claimed, squeaking at an even higher pitch than Roland, and Neo turned to the child beside him for confirmation.

"Grisia's been up there for ten minutes, sir. I don't think he knows how to come down."

Neo glared back up at the blond atop the tower. "Dear child, be that as it may, it would warm Sun's heart to see you safe and sound here beside young Roland."

This seemed to kick Grisia into action, quickly dangling his legs over the edge of the platform as he began to lower himself down. His tiny feet- wearing a shoe size so small they'd had to custom order them from the cobbler- found handles to balance on, and thus began the slowest descent Neo had ever witnessed. It wasn't that Grisia was a bad climber- he'd made it up there, after all- but every time he made it down a few feet he would stop as though catching his breath.

 _Something's not right here,_ Neo thought, narrowing his eyes. _Grisia knows better than to go slowly when I'm waiting for him. Unless, that is, he thinks he'll be in more trouble once he reaches me._

Neo scanned the slow-moving child for clues, finding his answer in the strange blue stains on Grisia's hands. _The brat snuck out for blueberry snacks again. Why couldn't this little brat just control his damn appetite? God of Light, you'd think we didn't feed him or something._ It seemed like there wasn't a day that went by without Grisia breaking the rules one way or another. And now he was wasting Neo's time trying to delay the inevitable punishment for going over the church wall- again.

Neo lost his temper the eighth time Grisia stopped for a 'breather'.

"The God of Light bids thee to make _haste,_ young man!" Neo pounded a fist into the Tower of Judgement angrily, punctuating his declaration. Grisia's fingers, small as they were, couldn't keep their grip on the smooth, round handles after the Tower began shaking under Neo's wrath, and he slipped.

Neo almost couldn't hear the snaps this time, the sound being drowned out by both Roland and Grisia screaming their heads off- Grisia much, much louder than Roland. Even without hearing it, Neo could see it, and he froze for a moment as he took in the sight. Grisia had hit the ground feet-first, tensed for impact; the bones of his shins both snapped, ripping through the skin and poking out like teeth, blood pouring onto the sand of the training grounds. Grisia looked like he'd gone into shock, pale and shaking, eyes amazingly dry of tears. Neo leapt into action, scooping the screaming child up into his arms and sprinting, for the second time in as many weeks, for the infirmary.

* * *

There was one break that, even though he hadn't inflicted it, he felt especially responsible for.

Neo had a lot of experience with broken hearts, although they usually belonged to women he dated. When he saw the signs of a broken heart in Grisia- empty eyes and hollow sighs- it made something inside of Neo burn furiously. He'd grown surprisingly attached to Grisia in the year or so he'd had him as his student- not, of course, that he would ever admit it.

"Child, what's wrong? Has the God of Light spoken through the heart of another and given you unfortunate news?"

"Nothing's wrong teacher, it's just . . ." Grisia trailed off into silence, looking down at his dinner gloomily. The two were eating in Neo's quarters, practising graceful table manners. Grisia had memorized the proper order of utensils easily, but he was still having trouble maintaining a graceful posture while eating. Now he was worse than usual; slouching, sighing, even letting his elbows drag against the table.

"Just what, Grisia?" Neo paused, watching as Grisia pushed his vegetables around his plate. "Tell me, or you won't get dessert."

"No!" Grisia snapped back up, but immediately sagged back down. Neo held his tongue this time, waiting. _It must be pretty bad for Grisia to ignore me like this._ His patience bore fruit after a few tense minutes of silence. ". . . I miss Roland."

 _Ah. Yeah, that would do it._ Neo leaned back in his chair, sighing. _I just don't understand it; those two were inseparable. I can't believe Roland would leave without saying anything to Grisia._ God of Light knows how much trouble the pair had caused him during selections. Climbing over the wall was something he'd certainly never had the guts to do. _Well, that's Grisia for you. It probably helped that he had a partner in crime._

"What about the others? They're your brothers, aren't they?"

"Yes, but." Grisia bit his lip, staring at his plate. "But they think I'm obnoxious 'cause I talk funny. None of them want to play with me except Elmairy, and he only does it 'cause he's the Leaf Knight-in-training."

 _Ouch. Of course, it's not like he can wow them with his sword skills like I used to._

"That's not true, what about-" _God of Light, what were the kids names again?_ "-the young Storm Knight? He's pretty friendly."

"No he's not, he's too shy." Grisia frowned into his glass of grape juice, an alternative since he was still a little young for wine. "Roland was the only one liked me enough to spend time with me." Grisia sighed, sounding like he was trying not to cry. "Having a family is nothing like I thought."

That made Neo's arguments die in his throat, suddenly weak against Grisia's declaration. They were both silent for a while, not looking each other in the eye. Finally, Grisia excused himself from the table, leaving his food to go cold and passing up the blueberry pie they had waiting for dessert.

Neo let him.

…

"You did _what?_ "

"I hired a private investigator." Neo nodded matter-of-factly. He and Chasel were having tea in the Judgement Knight's quarters, a tradition since before they'd been knighted. While at first glance, Chasel's room looked utilitarian and strict, as per his commanding persona, if you looked closely enough you could see evidence of his true nature. Silver ribbons pulled the curtains away from the windows, a handmade quilt lay folded at the foot of the bed, and the tea set they were using had pink roses painted on. Chasel, sitting across from him, set down his teacup.

"What in the name of the God of Light possessed you to do such a thing?"

"It just doesn't make sense that Roland would leave Grisia behind like that. They were so close, Chasel!" Neo shook his head, setting his own cup down. "I want to know where Roland ended up so I can at least tell Grisia he's doing alright."

Chasel groaned, dragging his hand down his face. "Well, I can hardly change your mind now that you've made your decision-"

"Damn straight."

"- _but_ I want you to remember to be _careful,_ Neo. Imagine what your student will think, if you all of a sudden hire a detective to track down the runner up from selections. It'll look like you're trying to replace him."

"Don't be such a worrywart, Chasel. I would never replace Grisia. Besides, it's not like he's gonna find out!"

* * *

Many other injuries followed, though none as incredibly dramatic as those first few. No matter what anyone says, anything sustained while practising swordplay _doesn't count,_ regardless that he'd had to sprint for the infirmary those times, too. (After the tenth visit, the clerics started finding reasons for Grisia to hang out with them for the rest of the day, reluctant to let the child back into the arms of his teacher. Neo couldn't exactly blame them.) Grisia knew exactly what he was getting into when he sparred with his teacher. It was the scars he earned outside of training that stuck in Neo's mind.

The broken arm the first time he pushed Grisia down the stairs. The many, many broken noses. The broken ribs that time Grisia defeated someone in a swordfight for the first time and Neo hugged him a little too hard.

Sometimes, the others asked him if he was disappointed. He was the strongest Sun Knight in history, he'd certainly never been injured so many times. Surely Grisia wasn't strong enough to be his successor?

Neo knew better, however; after all, despite his superhuman strength and unbelievable track record when it came to breaking his student's bones, he'd never managed to break Grisia's spirit.

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading! Neo, seriously . . . you should take better care of your student . . ._


	7. Heaven

Even after becoming the Cloud Knight-in-training, Demos wasn't sure he believed in the God of Light.

His family did. He could remember coming to the Hall of Praise with his parents every Sunday, and sitting quietly as they listened to the hymning and the sermons. Mother had hung the symbol of the God of Light above his bed, to watch over him, and Father liked to say a prayer before every meal. Tall red candles sat on the mantle, one for each member of the family; Father said that the God of Light protected them for as long as those candles burned, and warned him to never let them go out. They always kept all the windows open, to let light in, and Demos could remember how warm and peaceful it was.

After his parents died, and it was just Demos and Aris in the too-big house, all alone, he felt like everything and nothing had changed all at once. Mother and Father were gone now, and they weren't coming back. No one would take them to church anymore, and no one would say prayers before dinner. Mother wouldn't read to him anymore. Father wouldn't play with him anymore. At the same time, the symbol of the God of Light was still on the wall in his room. The sun still rose every morning, and people still walked by on the street. Nothing had stopped except Mother and Father, and maybe a part of Demos he hadn't realized he would miss. He stopped checking on the candles, and eventually they burned themselves down into pools of hard wax, dripping like blood down the mantle and staining the hearth bright red.

To Demos, the God of Light died the night his parents did, and Demos's faith was buried alongside them.

Not once, during the three agonizing years he was a slave, did he pray to the God of Light for mercy. He struggled alone as they bound him with heavy iron and trapped him inside their hideout. The labyrinthian caves in which they lived were miserable and foul, but Demos quickly learned better than to complain. _You should be glad we're even letting you live,_ they said. _You belong to us,_ they said. _You don't have to right to say "no."_

"Yes," he said, as they punished him for working too slowly and forced him to stay awake for days.

"Yes," he said, when they branded his back with the mark of a slave, leaving a scar that would never fade.

"Yes," he said, when they asked if he was happy to serve them, happy to be alive.

Demos got very good at lying.

The memory of the forgotten candles and the blood-stained hearth stayed with him, clinging to him like adamantine shackles on his spirit to match the ones on his arms and legs. They kept him chained to the past, dragging him down into the ashes of the hearth he left behind. When the Sun Knight rescued him and freed him from those chains, the shadows stayed. He felt heavy with the darkness, an invisible burden he couldn't put down, and Demos could feel it spreading and staining everything he touched. His time spent in the darkness, far from the God of Light's reach, had left indelible marks.

Even his sister- who had once been the center of his universe- didn't see the shadows like he did. Aris could tell they were there only because she could see what they were doing to him. She did her best to ease his burden, to chase away the memories that haunted her beloved younger brother, but Demos was still as tightly bound as he'd been in the bandit's lair. Things had again moved on while he had stopped; Aris had married a practical man named Yen, and the house had been redone to suit a young couple instead of two lost children. Demos became the third wheel, the extra setting at the table, the guest. He noticed that the mantle had been cleaned, and now only three candles burned quietly above the hearth. One for Aris, one for Yen, one for Demos. He put his out as often as he could get away with.

Demos still didn't know how he'd managed to end up as the Cloud Knight-in-training, with his scars and his shadows, and he secretly didn't think he deserved it. What kind of holy knight didn't believe in the God they served, anyway? What was a dark thing like Demos doing in the bright, welcoming church? He felt like an imposter.

But, if he was being honest, it felt . . . nice. The church was clean of any memories, good or bad; there were no ghosts of the past to measure himself against. He got along pretty well with his fellow students (especially when they all got together to complain about Grisia) and his teacher never scolded him about anything. It didn't matter how long he took to complete his chores. The kitchen ladies would give you food no matter what time of day it was. The longer he spent in the church, the easier it became to shoulder the darkness, and after a while the darkness stopped spreading. It was still there, of course, sitting in the scars on his wrists and his back, but no longer did Demos need to fear staining the brightness of the church.

He still wasn't sure if he believed in the God of Light, but if there really was such a thing as Heaven- if there really was someplace where there was no such thing as shadows- Demos was pretty sure this was as close as he was ever going to get.

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading!_


	8. Away

As childish as it might sound, Ceo hated it when his teacher was away.

He was perfectly capable of picking up Teacher's slack- he'd been doing all his paperwork for nearly a year, so it wasn't like his teacher's absence changed anything- but it just wasn't the same without the over-protective Storm Knight around. The church felt bigger, emptier, without his teacher standing beside him. Quieter, too, which he should be grateful for- how many times has he complained about his teacher being too noisy while he worked? Serenading the clerics, fussing over Ceo's health, complaining about the trouble-making the other Knight-Captain's got up to. The silence was almost louder than his teacher, and Ceo hated it.

His teacher's vice-captain commented on Ceo's misery once.

"Squire Storm," he said, ignoring Ceo's grimace at the silly title, "You're always so subdued when Captain Storm is away; have you ever considered asking him to take you along?"

Ceo hadn't gotten the chance to reply because Demos had arrived with a request from Grisia, but the suggestion stayed with him. It buzzed around his thoughts like a bug he couldn't swat, distracting him even as he arranged for a certain palace servant to experience some unpleasant surprises. _It's completely absurd,_ he told himself. _The Storm Knight is never 'subdued' about anything, especially something silly like his teacher being gone! If anything, I should be happy that he's not around, because now I can . . . uh . . . I can flirt with as many girls as I want!_

Ceo paused for a moment.

 _Then again, what kind of Storm Knight wouldn't jump at the chance to get away from this stuffy old church for a while? Maybe it is time for a little vacation!_

* * *

The next time Teacher headed out on a mission, looking noble and adventurous upon his trusty steed, Ceo was right next to him.

It had been far easier to convince Teacher than he'd thought it would be. All he'd needed to do was ask; maybe there was a little crying and some heartfelt ' _but I'll miss you_ 's involved, but nobody needed to know about that. All that mattered was that Teacher was going away and Ceo was going with him.

He only thought to ask _where_ they were going after they'd left Leaf Bud City.

"Wherever the wind takes us, child!" His teacher grinned, and waved a hand at the scenery. "The Storm Knight lives for this kind of freedom- no rules, no walls. All we need is the God of Light and our own ingenuity!"

Ceo was quiet for a moment. They were riding along a worn dirt path among endless golden fields, stretching along the horizon as far as the eye could see. Wind blew through the grain, brushing against the tall stalks softly, and a few songbirds sailed along just above the grain. Flowers sprang up along the edges of the path, light pink and cheerful, and above them the sky was brighter and more blue than his hair. A few clouds drifted by, lighter than air. The only sounds were the soft clip-clopping of the horses' as they slowly meandered down the trail. It was the most peaceful place Ceo had ever seen.

"Teacher," Ceo said, "You forgot the map, didn't you."

Teacher was silent for a moment, then turned to Ceo with the look of a man who knows he's in trouble and has decided to go out with a bang. Ceo could feel a chill run up his spine.

"Dear child," Teacher grinned, "What are your thoughts on becoming a wandering swordsman? Never having to do paperwork, never needing to follow orders, never having to wink at girls . . ."

 _. . . Never knowing where I'm going to sleep, never knowing when my next meal will be? Teacher! Take a little more responsibility for your actions!_

Thankfully, they didn't have to resort to such drastic actions. Teacher had taken this particular journey before, and knew roughly how to get to the nearest village- they arrived well after night had fallen, but at least they didn't have to sleep outdoors. Teacher even managed to charm the lady of the inn into letting them stay overnight for free. Ceo, struggling through his embarrassment, took it upon himself to charm her into also giving them a map- which she did, cooing over how adorable he was. _Yuck._

The next few weeks following the map incident were . . . interesting, to say the least. Ceo had always imagined his teacher's missions as anarchic vacations where his foolish mentor would dash around the country drinking and flirting with abandon. It made him even more mad to think about his teacher having so much fun without Ceo to drag him down. Truthfully, the trip was just as disorganised as he'd imagined, but not quite as extravagant; instead of living it up in every town they stopped in, Teacher liked to spend all their time on the road, telling Ceo all about his previous missions in each area.

He'd come to this river before, with Sir Wen, because they'd run out of food and needed to fish. _Honestly,_ his teacher complained, _for a man married to a first-rate cook you'd think he'd treat his food supply a little better!_

A few years ago, this specific tree exactly- or what it the next one over? He could never remember- had the hugest beehive you'd ever seen, just hanging out like it wasn't Death-Lord-level Dangerous. _(Yes, with a capital 'D' for Dangerous, Ceo, don't you know anything about Death Lords? What do you mean, you wouldn't know, you haven't met one yet? Yet!? Kiddo, you'd better pray you never meet a Death Lord!)_

Oh, he remembered this village, all right- the first time he'd come here, they were in the middle of some festival celebrating the time a previous Storm Knight had rescued the village from- was it an evil duke or an undead bear? One of those, anyway- and boy oh boy, you do not want to be the Storm Knight on 'Thunder Day', as they called it. He'd spent the whole time running from the demented village mothers trying to marry their daughters off to him. _Don't laugh Ceo, do you know how scary a mother can be when she's chasing after you? I swear, it's like they're bloodhounds for blue hair . . ._

This river- _yes, this is a different river from the last one, don't interrupt_ \- is actually an old friend of ours, kiddo! It runs behind the church grounds, just outside the wall. _You already know that? You saw it? Ceo! You know you're not supposed to climb the wall! What would you have done if you'd fallen in, huh? You might've floated all the way to Kissinger! Yes, Kissinger, you reckless child; 'all rivers run to Kissinger', haven't you ever heard of that before? Don't you give me that look, young man . . ._

Teacher showed him how to navigate without a compass, pointing out the way the shadows fell or the moss grew. Storm Knights had to know their way around a forest, he said, because most rebellions of Forgotten Sound take place at least partly in a forest. You'd ruin the Storm Knight's reputation if you got yourself lost while trying to do reconnaissance on the enemy. Teacher claimed that this skill was why the whole continent knew that "the Storm Knight never gets lost," which Ceo was now 100% certain wasn't true. At night, the only real way to navigate was to follow the stars- not, Teacher laughed, that he'd ever gotten the hang of it.

"Teacher, do you think you could teach me if I found some books on star navigation?"

"I think you'll end up teaching me, kiddo, but sure! Why not? It's gotta be better than staring at moss by the light of the moon."

Ceo also learned how to set up a tent with proper Storm Knight™ speed. The trick, Teacher explained, was packing the tent yourself, in such a way that it only took a few movements to open it up and get it situated. Usually, adventurers just stuff the tent in their bags so they can cut down on travel time, but the Storm Knight should have the luxury of folding it properly because he can cover more distance than the average wanderer. _What do you mean, you don't think we've been traveling very fast? The Storm Knight does everything fast, Ceo, get your head on straight! Do you think the Earth Knight could've made it all the way out here this quickly? If he had a map, sure? No! Ceo, kiddo, can't you forget about that already? We all make mistakes!_

* * *

When they finally reached their destination, Ceo felt like he'd been camping in the woods for years. He was sore from riding the horse, he was tired of eating food so carefully protected against expiration that it wasn't really food anymore, and he was really starting to worry about the piles of paperwork waiting for him back home. He said as much to his teacher, who laughed at him.

"You worry too much, Ceo! Just wait, I bet the sight around this next turn will take your mind right off all that mess back home."

Ceo opened his mouth to reply that forgetting about it wouldn't make it go away, but his breath had caught in his throat. They'd finally broken through the last stretch of woods, and suddenly all he could see was water, all the way out past the horizon, as far as he could see. It looked as though the sky had eaten away at the border of the continent, letting the ground fall away into a nothingness that went on forever. The ocean. It was the first time he'd seen it, and Ceo felt a sudden urge to break into a run and swim as far out as he could, just to try and reach the edge of it all.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Teacher spoke quietly, but Ceo still jumped as a warm hand settled onto his shoulder. "That's what freedom looks like, Ceo. Endless. There's nothing else like it, no matter how far you travel."

Ceo was quiet for a moment. Before him lay the ocean- freedom, according to his teacher- and soft waves lapping against sandy beaches. A village sat hidden in the cove, little white buildings with cheerful red roofs, and colorful boats bobbed up and down in the harbor. It looked peaceful, and for a moment Ceo was reminded of the fields they'd first traveled through, when he didn't have to worry about anything but staying upright on his horse. _I feel like I haven't gone away at all,_ Ceo realized. _I feel like I've come back._

"Amazing," he agreed. _It's even more blue than our hair!_

* * *

They were welcomed back to the church by almost all the others- even Lesus, who kind of made Ceo more nervous than Sir Chasel did- only missing the Hell Knight, who probably didn't exist anyway. His teacher had to leave pretty quickly to report to the Pope, but the other teachers stuck around to help unload the horses. Sir Fahr fussed over him, joined by Chikus, who was a little more like his teacher than either of them realized. Elmairy and Ecilan had both brought food, which he ended up sharing with Grisia. He also ended up telling them all about his adventure, despite his exhaustion; they'd been called by the very old mayor of Cypress Port to help fight off a bunch of pirates that had been preventing trade in their area. They'd even needed to go on boats and duel the leader of the pirates, a man who lit his own beard on fire, way out at sea. Teacher had gotten really seasick, but Ceo had felt right at home on the constantly shifting deck.

The other boys were fascinated by his accounts of the hideous pirates and the vastness of the sea, and they made him retell the story over and over, only stopping when their own teachers had to drag them away to their own lessons. Ceo walked back to his room alone but glowing with happiness; it had felt nice having everyone's attention on him. Maybe if he could get over his shyness around girls and became a proper Storm Knight, he'd get even more attention? It didn't sound half-bad, actually . . .

The sight of paperwork spilling out of his overflowing room made every single one of his life's regrets hit him at once.

"Good luck with all this, Ceo," his teacher yawned on his way to his own room. "See you in the morning!"

Ceo snapped around to look at him, but his teacher had already shut the door and left him alone with his worst nightmare. _You're not going to help me? Teacher! I change my mind about the wandering-swordsman thing! I don't want to be the Storm Knight anymore!_

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading!_


	9. Cut

Thorn Village was surrounded by dense forest and dangerous beasts no merchant was brave enough to face, so it had been vital that everyone learned to hunt, starting from the very moment you could draw a bow properly. Laica had been the youngest of his siblings, so he got started even earlier than most kids; he'd been a decent shot, but Laica prefered using a blade. Most people didn't even know there was a difference between a hunting knife and hunting dagger- one dressed your kill, and the other did the actual killing, respectively. Since the knife was used to cut the meat precisely, in order to prevent it from getting dull, Laica usually played with his dagger instead. It didn't matter how dull and worn that one became; as long as a blade wouldn't fall apart in his hand, Laica could use it.

(His mother disagreed, of course, saying it was phenomenally stupid to go up against a wild boar with a dull hunting dagger, so she tended to confiscate all his knives when he played with them too much.)

Laica's expertise on knives came in handy during the Metal Knight selections. One of the tests, identify and sharpen fifty different knives before time was called, made 17 kids drop out at once. Some of them couldn't even tell the difference between a boning knife and a fillet knife- while they were technically the same kind of blade, the fillet knife was longer and used primarily for fish. _Idiots. It's obvious that people like them just aren't cut out for this kind of job._

Teacher also introduced him to proper throwing knives. Back in Thorn Village, he used to compete with his siblings to see who could hit a target from the greatest distance, and now he was breaking every record they'd set. Forget ten paces- his previous personal best- Laica could land a bull's-eye from across the training grounds . . . with his eyes closed. Throwing knives quickly became his favorites, their perfect form and weight practically a work of art, and he meticulously kept his growing collection clean and sharp.

His first knife was his most precious. The decorative knife given to him by his Teacher back in his village had stayed with him for the whole journey, his sole companion on the long road to Leaf Bud City. It wasn't much good for anything but showing off- it had too many fancy grooves to properly cut or stab- but it had as sharp a blade as any other knife Laica had handled, and could cut as cleanly as his Divine Metal Blades. It was also a symbol of Laica's determination to become the Metal Knight. Sometimes he wondered, maybe it wasn't a good thing to want to become one of the infamous cold-hearted knights, maybe he should've gone for the Leaf Knight instead, but he refused to let these doubts drag him down. He was proud to be the Metal Knight, dammit, and he'd like to see one of the pansies on the warm-hearted side do what he could. As a member of the Twelve Holy Knights, Laica would uphold the honor of the Metal Knight even if he had to get his hands dirty doing it.

Another of his knives was further physical proof of his persona's dark nature; a wasp knife. Unlike your average poisoned blade, the blade itself was kept clean, and the poison instead stored inside the hilt. Once it was stabbed deep enough, all the poison was released at once, promising a horrible death to his opponent. (When his teacher gave it to him, it was filled with essence of belladonna. It hadn't been used once since.)

His smallest tools were utterly useless in battle; a full set of lock picks. Laica hid them inside the hollow hilt of a long dagger he kept strapped to his thigh. It was a little embarrassing how long it took him to learn how to use them, but his teacher kept at it. The Stone Knight wasn't the only one who could be stubborn, and Laica was grateful for it- after years of practise, he was practically a human skeleton key. No lock could ever bar his way again, and he developed a certain fondness for his picks, even if they weren't as wonderfully sharp as his knives.

Laica usually made a point of stealing any knives he could from his opponents, and his collection rapidly grew. Granted, it was filled with boring and low-quality knives, but every so often he scored a diamond in the rough- literally. Nicked off an insufferable noble he'd been investigating, it was an ornamental ceramic dirk with a huge marquise-cut diamond set into the hilt. It had been heavily carved with tiny roses and decorative nonsense, well-suited to the frivolous nature of the nobility. Much to Laica's surprise, it was actually fairly sharp- something that probably surprised its previous owner, too, if the crusting blood along the edge was any indication. Laica was delighted to accept it into his collection. (The noble in question was subsequently arrested by the Judgement Knight for racketeering, and didn't exactly have any say in the matter anyway.)

Another spoil of war was a small palette knife, as won from Ecilan during a spar. For whatever reason, Ecilan liked to talk during their spars, and Laica's collection had somehow come up in the conversation. After being disarmed, the Ice Knight-in-training dug into his pocket and handed over a silly-looking round blade he claimed was used to frost and cut cakes. Given that Laica had little-to-nothing to do with cakes- he much prefered maple toffee- it wasn't a very useful addition to his collection, but he treasures it as the first gift given to him by any of his brothers. Periodically, Ecilan will convince him to accept a baked good instead of his usual toffee, at which point he always uses the palette knife to handle it.

One of Laica's most interesting knives is actually a pair of shoes. In the sole of each one, there's a short, thin blade that can pop out and be used in combat. The shoes are heavier than he'd like, especially since he's supposed to be stealthy, but they've saved his bacon more than once. He'd long since outgrown his first pair, much to the frustration of his teacher, and they sparked an interest in improving upon their design; he went through so many pairs, testing out different styles and knives, that he started a rumor that the Metal Knight really liked shoes. So far, the ones he's most proud of are tiny stiletto knives hidden in a pair of Sun's high-heeled boots, which have yet to be noticed by Sun. Laica both fears and looks forward to the day Sun figures out why that pair of shoes is heavier than before.

(The tension only got worse when Laica realized that Sun had effectively stopped growing when they were sixteen, thus continuing to wear the 'stilettos', as Laica called them, on a regular basis. At this point, even Laica tends to forget that he'd 'improved' his commander's shoes, until Sun trips over thin air and suddenly Laica is reminded of his past sins. The anticipation is killing him.)

* * *

Years later, Sun happened to look a little closer at his heels, having noticed a suspicious amount of metal element lying in wait in the soles of his shoes. Upon closer inspection, Sun very narrowly missed having a knife shank him in the eyeball, instead cleanly slicing himself half a set of bangs. Laica did not help matters by laughing at the sight of Sun's new hairdo.

Suffice to say, it was not the anticipation that killed him.

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading!_


	10. Breathe

"The secret to being stubborn?" Aivis sat with his teacher in the bell tower of the church, legs dangling over the open balcony and shivering in the breeze. He looked up at his teacher, carefully turning his head _just right_ so he wouldn't accidentally glimpse the ground; slipping up here would mean a long way to fall. "What do you mean, Teacher?"

The 37th generation Stone Knight was quiet, gazing fearlessly out over the church grounds. He often brought lessons up here, the chill and the height enough to keep the other Holy Knights at bay. Aivis was easily distracted at the best of times, and the bell tower provided just enough privacy for their lessons to proceed without interruption. Here, there were no stray dogs Aivis could play with, no errands to run, nobody to say 'sure, I can help you' to. Just smooth white pillars and enormous bronze bells hanging close enough to touch. Of course, they couldn't actually touch them, since they were antique decorations that the Pope treasured. Aivis didn't really like it, since it was always so quiet and lonely, but teacher called it 'peaceful' and what teacher says, goes. (The Stone Knight had yet to reveal to Aivis that the ornate bells could, indeed, ring, and quite loudly at that. He wanted to enjoy his retirement with working ears, thank you very much.)

"Do not put words in my mouth, child." Teacher gave him a stern glance. "There is no one way to hold your ground, and therefore there is no one secret method to 'being stubborn'. To assume so would be disrespectful to our predecessors, and to yourself; remember, it is always safer to rely on a legitimate technique than a 'secret'."

Aivis shifted uncomfortably, kicking his feet against the wall of the tower. The Stone Knight _always_ played it safe. When you're too incredibly mule-headed to compromise, it's important that you choose the safest option, to avoid going back on your word. (Teacher likes to use Sir Hayseth as an example of recklessness; if he played it safe with his bets, he wouldn't lose so often. Aivis had to admit that Teacher had a point about that one.) The 'playing it safe' lessons were the _worst,_ because Teacher liked to spring them on Aivis without any warning, no matter what they were doing. It made sense, sort of; if Aivis got into the habit of always trying new things, he might end up biting off more than he could chew someday. But, honestly, it made him feel like the past 37 generations of Stone Knights had all deliberately sculpted the Stone Knight's persona into the most Boring Person in the Whole Entire World. (All food must be eaten plain, even if Elmairy flinches when he sees you eat. Getting ice cream? Only vanilla. Forever.)

He didn't _mean_ to be disrespectful to the Stone Knights of old or anything- it's just that he'd been training for nearly four years now and he still wasn't anything like the Stone Knight should be. If there was a shortcut or a spell or even a secret that got him closer to proper knighthood, he wanted to know it. Aivis could hear the clerics and the soldiers when they whispered in the halls, when the priests would take his teacher aside and speak so he couldn't hear them, sneaking him doubtful looks. Teacher always put the fear of the God of Light into anyone who dared imply he'd made the wrong decision, so Aivis did his best to ignore the possibility that, when Teach had chosen him, he hadn't played it safe. Sure, going by outer appearance, Aivis would grow to become the spitting image of the Stone Knight- even if he felt awkward and lanky now, Teacher assured him he would one day be suitably tall and broad-shouldered. Unfortunately, it didn't matter how perfect he appeared; inside, he was still too friendly and considerate. It wasn't _right_ for the Stone Knight to be as obliging as Aivis was. It just wasn't _done._

Like when he tried to sneak a puppy onto the church grounds because he felt sorry for it; he was still half-certain he could've kept it a secret from his teacher if it hadn't treed Grisia while Aivis was busy with lessons. Or when he would practice swordplay with Chikus, instead of only with Lesus (who was so good that not even Sir Chasel could keep up with him) or Laica (who didn't even use a sword) or Vival (same problem as Laica) because he was supposed to be a part of the "cold-hearted" faction. In fact, Aivis was friends with almost every member of the Twelve Holy Knights, excluding the Leaf Knight-in-training; poor Elmairy didn't know what to do with someone who matched him in kindness, so he tended to avoid running into Aivis. (Aivis, thinking it was a little sad that everyone expected the Leaf Knight to be nice but didn't return the favor, made a point of seeking out the Leaf Knight-in-training at least once a day.)

His teacher glanced back down at him, sighing heavily when he saw the pensive look on his student's face. After years of being- literally- the most inflexible hardass in the kingdom, comforting young teenagers was hardly his area of expertise. Especially _this_ teenager, whom he was entirely responsible for and was apparently convinced that he had all the answers. _I wonder how Neo manages with his student . . . probably knows exactly what he's doing, the bastard._

". . . You know, Aivis, you have at least six years before you need to take on the role of the Stone Knight." He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I understand that you may feel pressured to follow in my footsteps, and those of the warriors who came before us. But you need to remember that strength takes time. Someday you will breathe in and know, 'today I will not bow down to anything'; but no one expects this from you by tomorrow."

"But-"

"Let me rephrase that; no one _important_ expects this by tomorrow." The Stone Knight sniffed disdainfully.

Aivis was quiet for a moment. ". . . But Minister Evenne said-"

"Like I said," the Stone Knight finally allowed himself a small smile, the faintest shadow of a childhood grin. "No one important."

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading!_


	11. Memory

"I'm telling you, Chasel, this paperwork is going to be the death of me!"

"Really? I always thought you'd die a more noble death, Neo. I feel a bit disappointed."

Neo shot his friend a glare over the stacks of paperwork piled between them. He'd come in here for their usual tea, not to get trapped into doing all the documents he'd been putting off. Chasel remained unruffled in the face of Neo's annoyance, however, calmly signing off on reports and correcting details here and there. Normally, Chasel's piles would be noticeably larger than Neo's, given the sheer amount of documentation generated by the Judgement Complex, but the Sun Knight had been procrastinating a bit too long- the table groaned ominously under the weight of their combined paperwork.

Grumbling, Neo tried to focus back on the files in front of him. He'd nearly been able to escape earlier, when Grisia needed help with his embroidery practise- unfortunately for him, Chasel had invited the kid inside before Neo could slip out.

. . .

 _"Why are you even making him learn how to sew? You certainly can't!"_

 _"Yeah, but I don't get my clothes torn to pieces every other day! Plus, it looks elegant and sophisticated, it'll be good for him."_

. . .

Chasel had been unimpressed, but allowed Grisia to sit off to the side as they worked. It was strange seeing a child in the ascetic Judgement Knight's quarters, but apparently his student could make himself at home anywhere in the world. Periodically, he would hop up to have his work inspected for mistakes- by Chasel, of course. Who didn't actually find very many mistakes. Neo didn't know whether to be impressed that his student had picked up sewing so quickly, or angry that Grisia couldn't learn swordplay as easily.

Realising he'd gotten distracted again, Neo glanced back down. Scanning the text, he groaned loudly enough for his companion to glare at him in annoyance.

"Honestly, Chasel, I'm dying here. How am I supposed to know how much it costs to outfit the Leaf Platoon with new uniforms? Listen, Chasel, listen-" Neo carefully began to list out the prices as his friend sighed and set down his quill. "There are 25 members of the Leaf Platoon. Each one needs a new cloak for 4 silver ducats, a pair of boots for 6 copper ducats, a tunic for one silver ducat, and plain trousers for another silver ducat. Where do I even begin? I mean-"

"It's 162 silvers, and 5 coppers." Grisia spoke up, cutting Neo off with a matter-of-fact statement, as casually as though he were merely commenting on the weather. The two Knight-Captains glanced at each other before focusing on the young boy, who shifted under their attention.

"How did you know that, child?" Chasel spoke first. Grisia looked down at his cross-stitch nervously.

"I just- I took all the numbers and put them together in my head. But it didn't really match up, so I think I might be wrong."

"No, no-" Neo scribbled on his paper, only pausing to look back at the file- "That's right, Grisia. You did all that in your head?"

Grisia, correctly assuming that the two men were impressed, puffed out his chest. "Yeah! It was easy, Teacher! Do you want me to do it again?"

"Yes-" A hard kick to the shin cut him off, and Neo whipped around to glare at his old friend. Chasel's eyes seemed to say, _if you use that child to get out of doing your paperwork properly, I'll make you regret it._ The Judgement Knight's quill tapped against the desk impatiently, and Neo forced himself to say, ". . . No, child, the God of Light wills that thee strive to finish thou assignment, instead."

Obviously a little disappointed he couldn't continue showing off to his teacher and the Judgement Knight, Grisia turned back to his increasingly complex cross-stitch. Looking back at the stacks of paperwork waiting for him, Neo sighed and put the matter out of his mind.

 _Gah! Chasel, you bastard! I really can't stand all this paperwork!_

* * *

". . . So I was telling him, you've got to stop following the crowd all the time! Just because other people think a tip is hot doesn't mean it actually is, you know? And he was all, like, no way-"

"Sir Kleenly, can I talk to you?" A tiny figure appeared from around the corner, bouncing down the hall with a bundle of fabric in his arms. After the Sun Knight had decided to focus on elegance rather than swordplay, it was becoming common to see his student wandering the church with various apparatus, diligently studying everything from embroidery to the harpsichord. "Oh! Vice-Captain Moon! It's, um, a blessing from the God of Light that you're, uh, here."

"Hey there, Grisia. What did you need me for?" Kleenly had to resist the urge to bend down when speaking to the Sun Knight-in-training, the smallest of all twelve children that had recently been welcomed into the church.

"Sister Nissa showed me a new pattern, and I think I got it right, but I'm not sure. What do you think?" Grisia pulled at the fabric in his arms, shaking out two uneven squares; one had a smooth, complete pattern with complex twists and details. The other was much rougher and a lot less compact, but wasn't bad for an eleven-year-old. After reassuring Grisia that yes, his needlework was lovely, his companion sighed heavily.

"I wish my captain could take up a nice hobby like this. All the gambling he's doing is going to empty his pockets, and then who'll have to pay for it? Me. I just don't know what to do with him, Kleenly-"

"I know what gambling is." Grisia was looking up at them now, frowning as he tried to meet their eyes. Almost without thinking, Kleenly knelt down on the floor, his shoulders heavy and bristling with pins and needles. _What's up with this sudden pressure? I must've worn myself out with all that training this morning; I should get some rest later._ Beside him, the Moon Vice-Captain kneeled as well. _Probably just following my example; looks like he's better with kids than I thought!_

Grisia explained, "I heard people talking about it during selections. It means you want someone to win, right?"

"Right!" Kleenly nodded. His friend, however, rolled his eyes.

"Almost, kid. Gambling is pretty much guessing who will win, and to prove you mean it you put money on the line. Since my captain is never right, he always loses the money he bets, and it's annoying."

Grisia looked thoughtful. "So, 'odds' are how many people are betting against you?"

"Yeeaah, basically." The Moon Vice-Captain decided to leave it at that, unwilling to get into the exact definition of gambling terms with a small child.

"Why do you ask, Grisia? Do you want to know what your odds were during selections?" Kleenly asked. Grisia smiled and crossed his arms around the fabric, hugging it close.

"No, I remember."

"Really?" The Moon soldier looked skeptical, and Kleenly nudged him sharply.

"Yeah! I only know the odds of the last day, but I was 563 to 1, because no one thought I would win." Grisia nodded to himself. "And Roland's- Roland's odds were 1.052 to 1, because everyone wanted him to win. And the Judgement Knight-in-training's odds were 1.083 to 1, so I guess people really wanted him to win, too. And-"

"Woah, kid, are you trying to say you remember all the odds from selections?" The Moon Vice-Captain looked stunned. As Grisia opened his mouth to reply, there was a shout from the end of the corridor.

"Dear child, the God of Light bids thee to accompany your teacher to the Imperial Palace. Come along!" The Sun Knight beckoned for his student to join him, so Grisia hastily bid the two vice-captains farewell and dashed down the hall. As he went, the pins and needles faded into memory and left Kleenly feeling almost refreshed, now that the strange pressure was gone. Vice-Captain Moon stood up beside him, and the two watched as Knight-Captain Sun ruffled Grisia's hair and led him around the corner.

Kleenly almost wanted to follow, but Grisia's comments had reminded his friend of another of Knight-Captain Moon's strange gambling habits, so he put the incident out of his mind.

 _What was up with that pressure, though? Was it magic? No, way, it couldn't be- the only ones around were us and Grisia. It must've been a coincidence._

* * *

"Hey, Grisia, look at this." Neo whispered, beckoning his student closer. He'd triple-checked that the Judgment Complex was swamped today, ensuring that Chasel couldn't manage to appear at exactly the wrong moment- a talent he'd been perfecting since the day they'd met all those years ago- but he knew better than to take chances when it came to Chasel's 'Injustice Radar'. (In fact, that stupid intuition had gotten Neo caught enough times over the years that he put more trust into it than Chasel did.)

"What is it, Teacher?"

Neo held up a stack of paperwork, grinning. "You know how you're so good with numbers? The God of Light will smile upon you if you help your teacher with these reports!"

Predictably, Grisia preened at the chance to show off, and spoke with confidence; "Sure thing, Teacher! I can do it really fast, too!" He paused for a moment. "But it might go faster if you read it to me, Teacher. It's easier if I hear it instead."

"Are you sure? Teacher has some other things he really needs to do . . ." _Like flirt with those new clerics, for instance!_

"No- I mean, Teacher," Grisia paused, looking more uncomfortable by the second. Neo nodded at him encouragingly, trying to prompt the ten-year-old into speaking. They'd only been teacher and student for a few months, but Neo was getting better at not 'Yelling-Until-The-Damn-Brat-Reacts-One-Way-Or-Another'.

"Teacher, I can't . . ." The squire looked up at the Sun Knight like he was hoping his teacher could read his mind and he wouldn't have to finish his sentence. Unfortunately, Neo was not a mind-reader, and Grisia could hardly send his thoughts directly into someone else's head, so he finally mumbled a quiet, "Teacher, I can't read."

". . . Do you mean, you can't read my handwriting?" It was possible, if a little insulting. The Sun Knight had to write in a very archaic, flowery style with loops and extra lines everywhere, so it should come as no surprise that a kid couldn't read it.

"No, Teacher." Grisia shook his head, then brightened. "Can you teach me?"

"I-" Neo tried desperately to hold onto the hope that perhaps Grisia was only kidding and he would still have the opportunity to, ahem, greet the new clerics, but the kid gave him such a hopeful look that he knew he'd lost his chance. "Sure, kid. Let's head up to the library, OK?"

. . .

It went a lot faster than Neo had expected, actually; all he had to do was point at a letter and say it aloud, and Grisia could take it from there. Pretty soon he was stumbling through the books on his own, letting Neo test the exact limits of his astounding memory. Yes, he could memorize the words in a book even if he'd only read them once. He could even write them, although Neo groaned when he realized that he would have to add 'calligraphy' to their lessons. Yes, he could memorize the pictures, too, but he wasn't very good at duplicating them (Neo told him that his lopsided illustrations looked great anyway.) Yes, he was every bit as good with numbers as Neo had suspected. In fact, Grisia could tell him how many soldiers were currently active, and what their salaries were, just by working backwards from the amount of donations they'd received at the last Sunday Hymning.

However, despite Grisia's frankly astounding capacity to remember, he was terrible with names. Despite having only left the orphanage a few months ago, he couldn't recall the names of any of the other children, or that of the grouchy old matron who cared for them. He didn't know any members of the Sun Knight platoon but Kleenly- although, admittedly, that was the extent of Neo's knowledge, too. (Neo made a mental note to watch and see if any of his men happened to notice that the Sun Knight-in-training hadn't bothered to remember their names.) After a bit of questioning, Grisia finally confessed that he usually made up for this deficiency by giving everyone around him stupid nicknames, like 'Dopey' for Chasel's vice-captain Noley. All his nicknames were just close enough to the real things that Neo had to question whether or not Grisia 'forgot' on purpose- as far as he could tell, he didn't.

(He was painfully curious what Grisia's nickname for him was. Since the kid could hardly forget who the Sun Knight was, Neo resigned himself to the fact that he would never know. Grisia certainly wasn't telling.)

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading!_


	12. Insanity

Wen had dealt with some pretty crazy stuff during his time as Leaf Knight.

Most of it wasn't his fault; flesh-eating undead rising to devour the good people of Leaf Bud City, for instance, was weird but not his responsibility. _(The undead were, after all, the Sun Knight's jurisdiction, and Neo definitely had that under control.)_ Other things were his fault, not that he'd ever admit it. _(What would he even say? "Sorry fellas, the reason we all ate nothing but chicken soup for a month that one time was because I'd forgotten my own damn anniversary and Aliza got all her friends to punish us for it"?)_ Or that time he and Lanbi hadn't brought a map for a diplomatic mission in Kissinger because he'd stupidly believed that "the Storm Knight never gets lost." The proper phrase would be, "the Storm Knight never _thinks_ he's lost, _even when he most certainly is._ "

 _(Wen still wouldn't forgive Lanbi for causing all that trouble. Lanbi maintained it was Wen's own fault for not packing a map. Bastard.)_

But never, in all his years of knighthood- 14 years, 24 if you counted his training days, and a hell of a long time either way- Wen had _never_ met _anyone_ as insanely unlucky as Neo's walking catastrophe of a student.

Firstly, the kid was _Neo's student,_ which was just asking for trouble. It was almost as though he- Creus? God of Light, Wen could never remember that kid's name- had been singled out at birth by some higher power, if said higher power had been suffering the worst hangover in history. Honestly, he wouldn't wish Neo on anyone, let alone a tiny kid like that.

That was another thing; the boy was entirely too small. Even Elmairy, who was hardly a titan himself, had a few inches on him. Wen had to admit, though, as petite as he was now, it wasn't quite as drastic as it had been when he was younger. See, the kid had arrived for selections looking exactly how you'd expect a scrappy little orphan to look; scraped-up knees and worn-out clothes and hair like a bird's nest, so long and tangled you couldn't even see his eyes. It didn't seem to bother him during training, but after he'd been selected as the next Sun Knight, Neo refused to put up with it any longer. The poor kid had been dragged kicking and screaming into the bathtub, where it was revealed that his wild hair had made him look taller than he really was. As soon as Neo combed it all out, he shrunk.

 _(It still made Wen laugh to think of the look on Neo's face when he'd figured it out.)_

There were also strange "coincidences" that only ever happened around the kid. A knight that teased him would find themselves suffering from allergies no matter the season. A priest that told him off for climbing the church wall would later find that their soup- in fact, everything they ate- would go cold the moment it touched their lips. As for the kid himself, he never seemed to run into any of these kinds of struggles, always flawless and refined. Elegant, as the Sun Knight should be, even though he was only fourteen. When he fought, no matter how violent the situation was, you could bet your ass that the Sun Knight-in-training would remain perfectly unruffled.

 _(When he ran, he was so graceful it was as though he was moving in slow motion. It gave Wen the willies.)_

What stood out the most, though- more than his short stature, more than his uncanny luck- was his inexplicable bad blood with any and all kinds of animals.

* * *

Wen first noticed it when he was training the kids how to ride horses. Usually, each of the twelve holy knights was responsible for their own child, tutoring them separately in everything from Forgotten Sound's history to proper dining etiquette. The kids only ever really spent time together during swordplay lessons with Neo, who was admittedly the best person for the job. Since the Leaf Knight was supposed to be skilled with animals, Wen ended up saddled with the responsibility of teaching the next generation how to properly ride a horse. Luckily, he'd always had a soft spot for horses- he used to ditch training to visit the stables, a habit that annoyed his teacher to no end- and he took his new duties in stride.

Not only did he arrange for the boys to all take their lessons at the same time- no mean feat when they're a bunch of squirrely twelve-year-olds- but he chose their horses himself. (He may have let his enthusiasm for equines get away from him. But only a little.) There were specific expectations as to what kinds of horses the twelve holy knights could ride, just as there were expectation for everything else they did. Wen debated letting the boys start with the sort of horses they'd be riding later in life, but ending up deciding that they ought to learn with the older, calmer horses.

Strangely, all the boys got along fine with their horses except for the Sun Knight-in-training, whose horse was evidently not as calm as Wen remembered. The only way he could get old Buttercup to let the kid on her back was to stand right next to her the whole time. If Wen so much as stepped away for a moment, she'd try to buck the kid off. Worse, when he tried to lead her over to another horse so he could adjust the rider's posture, that horse would begin to panic as well. It had taken more than a month of training before Buttercup would finally allow the kid to ride her without immediately trying to buck him off, and the Sun Knight-in-training could safely ride with the other boys. _(Not that his unbalanced, bizarre technique really counted as 'riding.')_

Stone had commented on it once, when he'd come to observe his own student. The Stone Knight-in-training was good enough that he could ride alongside the Sun Knight-in-training and give him a hand when he started to slip- Elmairy rode on the other side, lending a hand as needed. Judging by the way the horses would occasionally veer away, they weren't too happy about it.

"That boy . . . animals do not like him much."

"Huh?" It was unusual for the Stone Knight to open a conversation, and Wen took a moment to respond. The Stone Knight leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms and frowning.

"Neo's student. The horses do not want to be near him."

Wen scoffed. "You should have seen them before; I've never seen those old nags so aggressive towards anyone else. It's like he wears horse repellant or something."

"Hmm." Stone narrowed his eyes, watching the boy wobble along with suspicion. "No, it cannot be. Dogs do not like him either."

"How'd you figure that out?" Wen had been absently keeping an eye on the other boys, but his fellow Knight-Captain's statement made him turn. Stone grumbled for a moment.

"Aivis has taken in a number of stray dogs over the years, and I told him that he would not be allowed to keep them if they attack anyone. With very few exceptions, they have all targeted that boy there."

". . . And Neo hasn't killed you for this?" It was impossible for Neo to ignore his student getting attacked, right? No matter what kind of damage he himself inflicted, the Sun Knight surely wouldn't stand for a dog hurting the Sun Knight-in-training.

The Stone Knight hummed. "I do not believe he knows. The boy is often too fast for the dogs to catch him, although he tends to end up in trees because of it. When he is caught, he heals the wounds on his own. No matter how well Aivis trains the dogs, they always react to the presence of the young Sun Knight-in-training."

Wen had only just opened his mouth to reply when the Blaze Knight-in-training and the Metal Knight-in-training collided, breaking off his conversation with Stone as he dashed off to do damage control.

 _They always react, huh?_ He mused. _Maybe the kid really is cursed._

* * *

Two years after those horse riding lessons first started, Wen was stumbling back to his room after a night of drinking when he happened to run into Neo.

"Heey, man!" Wen leaned onto the wall next him, grinning. "What're you doin' up?"

Neo didn't bother looking at him. "Drunk again?"

"You betcha!" Wen tried to follow Neo's line of sight. Everything was a blur, but Wen was pretty sure they were facing the student's rooms. "You worried about your kid?"

"No." Neo answered quickly, then glanced at Wen. "Why do you ask?"

"Pshhh, that's easy." Wen stood up for a moment, then slid back against the wall. "I know _I'd_ worry if he were my kid. He's like a . . . he's like a . . . trouble magnet, you know?" He laughed. "Like at the tournament earlier, that was crazy! The way he just . . . just got launched off the horse, you know? Woah."

All the students had competed in a "friendly" horse-riding tournament earlier, which had really been more of a test arranged by the Pope in order to observe the apprentice knights. If any of the boys did badly, their teacher would be pressured to find a replacement, fast. Wen's heart had been in his mouth every time Elmairy lost a point, praying as hard as he could that his student wouldn't be deemed 'unsuitable' by the judges. Thankfully, almost all the students did well; the Earth Knight-in-training even managed to earn a perfect score.

The only one who didn't excel was Neo's student, who had only cleared two jumps before his horse lost patience and threw him off.

Neo finally turned to face him, glaring. "Yes, I know. I thought you said he was doing well in his lessons?"

"He is!" Wen argued. "The horse didn't try to, you know, trample him this time!"

" _Trample_ him?" Neo frowned.

"Yeah. I mean, sure, he was dead last-" Neo growled at that- "but he's alive. One kick from a horse like that and it's lights out, you know?" Wen paused for a moment. "Heh. He's alive but he's dead last. That's, like . . . alive and dead. Woah."

"You really are drunk," Neo sneered angrily. "The church doesn't allow aggressive horses to be used during competitions. It wouldn't have kicked Grisia."

"It doesn't have to be aggresss . . . mean. I trained most of those horses, you know? None of them are mean. They don't have to be when it comes to your kid."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Animals, you know? They hate your kid, man." Wen snickered. "The horses are skittish around him. No wonder it didn't wanna jump, or anything. Dogs, too. They chase him, and stuff, like he's some kinda threat."

Neo's frown faded into a look of realization, then horror. But Wen blinked, and the look was gone and Neo was sneering again.

"Don't talk nonsense, Leaf. There's no reason for a bunch of animals to be scared of Grisia. He can't even swing a sword properly!" Neo marched back into his own room and slammed the door shut behind him.

Wen managed to steer himself back into his room, and passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

The next morning (or afternoon, depending on how you look at it) Wen woke up to discover that Neo had been busy. According to Lanbi, he'd stormed into the Pope's office at daybreak, demanding that he make it a rule that no pets were allowed on church grounds. Then he'd gone around personally hunting down anyone who thought they could get away with hiding their cats and dogs in the dorms. Everyone had been running around, desperately trying to find new homes for all the animals on such short notice.

 _(Lanbi also mentioned, in a voice that was barely a whisper, that Neo had cursed out the Pope for trying to replace the kids. In between hunts for pets, he would go back to the office and yell some more. Eventually, the Pope had gotten so fed up that he'd given Neo a list of nobles who had been putting pressure on the church to replace the current students, preferably with boys loyal to the nobles, and Neo was currently knocking on all their doors to yell at them, too.)_

"Do you have any idea why he's doing all this?" Lanbi looked frazzled. Wen didn't feel much better, suffering from one of the worst hangovers he'd had in years.

An echo of a certain conversation flashed across his mind, but it slipped away, and Wen shook his head.

"Nope. Not a clue." He grinned. "It's probably just Neo's usual insanity. Ignore it."

". . . I guess." Lanbi relented. "Oh! By the way, Neo wanted me to tell you that he would be joining in on horse-riding training from now on. He said something about making sure you were actually teaching his student properly."

 _Damn it! Maybe I'm the one who's been cursed!_

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading!_

 _Although Wen wouldn't know this, I think animals hate Grisia because they can sense his true nature as a demon king candidate._


	13. Misfortune

Neo was sure- _damn sure, Chasel, don't scoff!_ \- that he was cursed. Absolutely certain. If there was anything Neo could pride himself on ( _besides his luxurious hair and invincible swordplay, of course_ ) it was his conviction in his opinions. Neo Sun, noble leader of the 37th generation of the Twelve Holy Knights and the strongest Sun Knight in history, was completely and utterly convinced that some jackass had waved their magic wand for the sole purpose of ruining his life. ( _Neo had never done anything to deserve it either, nevermind what his insubordinate holy knights thought._ )

This terrible, horrible, no good, very bad curse came upon him in the form of two small children.

* * *

Curses and hexes and the like weren't exactly his area of expertise, but Neo was pretty sure he knew them when he saw them. After ten years of fighting every manner of monster necromancers could whip up, he could recognise the signs. The children weren't discolored, or rotting, or on fire, but there was still something unmistakably Bad about them.

The moment the first one- Neo later learned from Kleenly that his name was Roland- stepped through the gates of the church, Neo felt a chill run up his spine. The Divine Sun Sword was already halfway out of its sheath by the time Neo realised that the unnerving atmosphere was coming from a kid. ( _The one thing he couldn't reasonably expect to get away with attacking, dammit._ ) Upon closer inspection, it was obvious by the determined look in his eye and the certificate in his hand that the boy was here for the selections. Being the Sun Knight, Neo was of course willing to direct the boy to the hall where the other early applicants had gathered, silently praying to the God of Light that this boy- this boy who wasn't as he seemed- was trying out for one of the other positions. _Any_ of the other positions.

(The fact that even the God of Light couldn't prevent Roland from entering the Sun Knight trials goes to show just how _unspeakably awful_ this curse of Neo's was.)

The second boy, shuffled in with a crowd of his fellow orphans, gave Neo the same nauseous feeling as the first one. Even without looking at him, Neo could tell he was there, lurking among the other children like a beast in the shadows. Again, Neo had clumsily stopped himself from drawing his sword on a child- this time in front of a crowd of twenty-odd more children who would be under his care for the next two months. It was a close one, even for him, and Neo had a sinking feeling that this particular kid would be responsible for a lot more close calls than that. ( _He didn't have to ask Kleenly for a name this time around. Neo asked the kid himself after witnessing just what kind of horrors he could perform with a blade in hand; Grisia, he'd been told. No last name._ )

Aside from their disquieting auras, the kids didn't display any obvious symptoms of dark magic. They didn't have horns, or wings, or wickedly sharp teeth. They couldn't spin their heads around like owls, not that Neo was very interested in testing for that particular symptom. _(Either it worked, and he would have to deal with a demon child, or it wouldn't, and he would have to deal with a dead child. Explaining a broken neck to Chasel would not be pleasant.)_ Frankly, as far as dark creatures went, the kids were a little pathetic.

It soon occurred to Neo, however, that the children didn't need any of those things to make his life miserable.

* * *

Shenanigans before dawn. Mischief in the morning. Troublemaking in the afternoon, a quick break for dinner, and suspicious behavior in the evening, followed by bedtime. (Neo's favorite part of the day quickly became bedtime.) Every day was a non-stop circus, and duty-bound as he was to choose a student, Neo couldn't dump the kids on his men and flee into the mountains to 'train'. The boys were every bit the troublemakers he had pegged them to be.

At any given moment, they were up to something. It could be sneaking into the kitchens (forbidden,) it could be climbing over the church wall (also forbidden,) it could be infiltrating the Pope's office to shift all his furniture two inches to the left (probably forbidden, but since Neo was a little curious himself how the old fart would react, he wasn't going to say anything.) Grisia didn't pay attention to any warnings that he would be kicked out, and seemed to be competing only for fun, while Roland clearly took the selections more seriously. In the end, however, he would still go along with all of his buddy's crazy schemes.

That was the worst part; they were buddies.

Maybe if they had remained rivals, like all the other boys, he would have some time to breathe. Instead they were inseparable, and thus several times worse than they would have been. _(_ _It was just Neo's luck that the power of teamwork was working against him this time around!)_

Neo could almost believe they weren't doing it all on purpose. Roland never picked fights, and Grisia only picked them on those not-so-rare occasions that his opponents were 'asking for it.' Usually, they asked for it by teasing him for his height, his hair, his swordplay, his friendship with Roland, his lisp (as induced by several missing teeth,) or anything else the kids could think of. Part of him was a little suspicious as to why the other kids hated Grisia so much; he certainly wasn't a threat to their chances of becoming the Sun Knight-in-training. He didn't walk around with a 'fight me' sign stuck to him, either. (Neo ignored the quiet voice that suggested that maybe, just maybe, the other kids could tell that something was a little wrong with Grisia, something in his voice or his eyes or the way he moved. Surely, no matter how striking Grisia's dark aura was, those brats trying out for selections wouldn't be able to sense it. No way!)

* * *

If he absolutely had to choose he'd say that Roland was the worse of the two. Even though Grisia could be a real pain in the ass, he seemed to be completely oblivious to his dark nature.

Roland wasn't.

Occasionally, Neo would turn around to find Roland staring blankly at him, his dark aura simmering with malice. With great effort, he would ignore his sword and reach for Roland with his bare hands- he was the Strongest Sun Knight in History, a 10-year-old brat wouldn't really be able to hurt him- and Roland would always snap out of it as soon as Neo touched him. Luckily, whatever sinuous connection he held with dark magic was easily broken by the Holy Light coursing through Neo's veins.

But even when he wasn't being directly influenced by the dark element, there was something about Roland that couldn't be explained, little holes in his memory that Grisia always managed to work around, but Neo could tell it bothered them both. (Hell, it bothered him, and he was deliberately trying the ignore them!) These flaws were painfully apparent when Neo compared him to Grisia, whose dark element was suffocating but steady, as though asleep. (Neo wasn't sure it this meant Grisia's dark element was much weaker than Roland's, or much more powerful. He didn't want to find out.)

* * *

Days turned into weeks, and Neo gradually got used to the presence of the two boys. Their disquieting aura was easily ignored, remaining instead a constant buzz in the background as he pushed them to their limits again and again. For a while, Neo was nearly convinced that he'd dreamed up how awful the first few weeks were; surely, no matter how scheming those brats were, they couldn't have had such an impact on him. No! He was the strongest Sun Knight in history, and there was no way they could pull one over on him. Maybe Chasel was right, and he wasn't cursed. Neo resolved to go a little easier on the kids, just to show how gracious and benevolent he was.

This resolve lasted about an hour, until he walked into the meeting hall and was greeted by a bucket of red paint and the sight of his fellow Twelve Holy Knights, all looking defeated as they sat coated in bright paint as well.

(He didn't care if those two brats really were evil! They could both be Demon Kings for all he cared! They were both grounded 'til he retired!)

(At least Chasel finally admitted that yes, Neo was definitely cursed.)

* * *

x

 _Thanks for reading!_


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